It is a simple question without a simple answer. On Tuesday, when the voting selection committee of the Hockey Hall of Fame convenes in downtown Toronto, there is little doubt that the merits of one of most-discussed, disliked, controversial figures — and one of the great players of his time — will be debated and disected as to whether he will be part of the Class of 2013.

As with everything to do with Lindros’ career, the conversation will be contentious. It is almost a certainty that first-time nominees Chris Chelios and Scott Niedermayer will receive 14 of the 18 votes necessary for election to the Hall. And it is almost a certainty that Brendan Shanahan, passed by more than a year ago, will be part of this Hall of Fame class.

But the certainty ends with Lindros, who played parts of 13 seasons in the NHL, with four different teams, the first half of his career stunningly effective — for a brief instant, he was the game’s most dominant player — and then there is the second half of his career, which, by his lofty standards, was rather ordinary.

“I remember him as the most dominating player of our generation,” said Ray Ferraro, the hockey commentator, who played more than 10 years against Lindros in the NHL. “When he was at his peak, he was unstoppable.

“You hear people talk about the Legion of Doom line. You could not stop them. It wasn’t the Legion of Doom. Believe me, it wasn’t Mikael Renberg or John LeClair. It was Eric. You couldn’t stop him.

“He was a world junior star, played in the Olympics, played in World Cups. There’s nothing he didn’t do. He didn’t win a Stanley Cup, but a lot of guys in there didn’t win the Cup, either.”

And then the question: Does that mean this is Lindros’ year? Ferraro’s answer: If he was voting yes, but from the committee he says no.

For all that Lindros did, for all that was expected of him, for all he delivered, people always wanted more. That’s part of what the Hall of Fame voters must weigh. They must look at what he accomplished and what he didn’t. They have to take into consideration the 760 games played in the NHL, but also the 378 missed to injury. They have to take into consideration the brilliance with which he entered the league: In his first five seasons, he was an all-star, a Hart Trophy winner, an overwhelming physical presence, maybe the first combination power forward-skilled forward of dominant size in the history of the game.

Then one looks at what happened after those five years: He played in only 10 more playoff games in his final eight seasons in the league. Only two goals and two assists, post-season, during that time.

And yet, there was dominance at a level few have ever known. Bob Clarke was at the centre of the Lindros storm for many years as the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers and he has been clear on his quite clear on his view of Lindros regarding the Hall of Fame. He’d had his fill of Lindros by the time he’d walked away from him.

“The standards that were put on this kid were very unfair,” Clarke told the CBC. “Nobody could live up to those standards, and I think he was awful special as a player and awful good.

“He wasn’t Wayne Gretzky and he wasn’t Mario Lemieux. He was a different type of player, but had he stayed healthy … he may have been at that standard.”

That was the playing part. The family part may factor in any Hall of Fame determination as well. The off-Lindros was part-soap opera, part-circus act. The constant interference of his parents in his career, in his life, has been a rather public theme. Lindros didn’t report to Quebec when drafted by the Nordiques, challenging the hockey authorities, eventually ending up in Philadelphia. He had done the same in junior hockey, when he was drafted by the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He refused to report and wound up with the Oshawa Generals.

“The hockey world does not like being challenged,” said NBC commentator, Pierre McGuire. “ I don’t know how much of that carries over to these voters, but a lot of people didn’t like that.”

Clarke was front and centre with the parent issues, though.

“The crap that went on around Eric in Philadelphia, it basically ended his career in Philly,” Clarke said. “For me, it overshadows the great six, seven, eight years he had when he played with us.

“Nobody in our organization seemed to be safe from the family’s blame whenever something went wrong with Eric,” he continued. “It just seemed bigger than Eric playing … and alienated him from the team.”

When Russ Farwell was GM of the Flyers, he was once phoned by owner Ed Snider. Snider had received a call from Bonnie Lindros, Eric’s mom, complaining that her son’s linemates weren’t passing to him. Farwell was ordered to produce a video that indicated otherwise. He passed the video on to the owner, who placated the parent by showing that Eric’s linemates were playing nice with their son. That was just part of every- day life in Philadelphia.

When Dave King coached the Canadian Olympic team in 1992, he once told me he had two meetings every day. One with the team. And one with Eric. That way he knew he had everything was taken care of.

Those kind of stories won’t enhance Lindros’ candidacy. But the hockey, the overall hockey played, and the precedence of his situation should. The fact he was hurt too often, missed too many games, shouldn’t factor anymore. Recent inductees Cam Neely and Pavel Bure played fewer games than Lindros.

Lindros scored 865 points in 760 games. His 1.138 points per game ranks 19th in NHL history. Only one eligible Hall of Fame player ahead of him, Kent Nilsson, is not inducted. All 10 who follow him on the points-per-game list have been elected to the Hall.

Marc Crawford coached against Lindros in junior and against him in the NHL and believes he should be in the Hall of Fame. But, like Ferraro, he doesn’t see it happening this year. While Hall of Fame nominations are not made public, I was told that Lindros was not nominated last year by any of the 18 members of the voting committee and, while there is no certainty he will be nominated this year, there seems to be the feeling he will be discussed.

“I loved Eric when he first came into the league and before that” said Crawford. “ I was coaching Cornwall. He was playing for Oshawa. We had a great playoff series with them. We took them to six games. Really, he carried the Oshawa Generals as a 16-year-old. I thought: ‘This guy is going to be just great.’ And then, when he played for Team Canada in 1991 — it was my first year with the Leafs — I was watching him emerge on the scene.

“Early in his career, he was fantastic. The question for the Hall of Fame is that it didn’t continue. If you took it on the sample size of what he did early in his career, before he had the concussion problems, for sure, he’s a can’t- miss Hall of Fame inductee. But they judge it over the course of it. The latter part of his career wasn’t as stellar.

“Eventually, he’ll get there. I just don’t think he’ll get there this time.

Steve Dryden, for one, disagrees. The former editor of The Hockey News and current managing editor of hockey at TSN, is a huge Lindros supporter.

When asked if he should be in the Hall, Dryden said: “Absolutely.

“He was a special player who had a profound impact on the game and that’s what the Hall of Fame is supposed to recognize.”

When asked why he wasn’t in already, Dryden said: “Without being in that room, it’s hard for me to understand.”

Lindros in the Hall a tough call

It is a simple question without a simple answer. On Tuesday, when the voting selection committee of the Hockey Hall of Fame convenes in downtown Toronto, there is little doubt that the merits of one of most-discussed, disliked, controversial figures — and one of the great players of his time — will be debated and disected as to whether he will be part of the Class of 2013.

As with everything to do with Lindros’ career, the conversation will be contentious. It is almost a certainty that first-time nominees Chris Chelios and Scott Niedermayer will receive 14 of the 18 votes necessary for election to the Hall. And it is almost a certainty that Brendan Shanahan, passed by more than a year ago, will be part of this Hall of Fame class.

But the certainty ends with Lindros, who played parts of 13 seasons in the NHL, with four different teams, the first half of his career stunningly effective — for a brief instant, he was the game’s mos